5 things you’ve done wrong when asking your techie for help

Next time your computer breaks down or appears not to be working right, consider what not to do before you call your techie for some help.

Has your computer broken down or is it not working right? Who do you tend to call when your device is on the blip? I bet you know a person who fits the so-called “techie” category. You know who I mean – someone who studies, works or is just plain good with computers and goodhearted enough to help you out.

But, for some unclear reason, your techie gets upset every time he or she fixes some of your gear. In this article, I will try to explain what you’ve been doing wrong.

1. Is your device plugged in? Did you try to restart it?

I guarantee you that these two questions will be the first to be asked by any techie. Save them the trouble of making an effort for no real reason by only calling them after you’ve checked your device has plenty of juice and a simple restart didn’t solve the problem.

2. Have a list of “errors” at hand

If your techie promises to stop by, s/he will have a few questions you should be prepared to answer. For example, be ready to describe what went wrong with your device. Also, it can be extremely useful to write down everything you’ve been doing before and after the error message popped up. A screenshot of your error log might be of help too.

Note: Be ready to “confess your sins”, as most of the time, it is you, the user, who caused the error. Trying to shift the blame onto someone else or even the device itself will only annoy your techie. So, if you downloaded a suspicious file, or you’ve done something wrong, don’t be afraid to confess it.

3. Small talk isn’t fixing your computer

Do not ask too many questions. Your techie is trying to fix the mess you caused and it often isn’t as straightforward as it might seem. If you think you can find the answer on Google, then go ahead, but don’t call for help next time.

Small talk is sometimes a dead end. In fact, if you can find any activity other than looking over techie’s shoulder, go for it. It’s better for everybody involved – you, your techie and your device as well.

4. Your guesses aren’t helping

Trying to talk the problem away isn’t going to help either. Your techie is most probably an IT professional who knows how to localize the error. So only answer the questions they ask and keep the theories of what might have gone wrong for yourself. If they give you any advice, follow it. It can be anything from using better passwords to applying security solutions. These simple suggestions can save you time, money and keep you out of unnecessary trouble.

5. Patience, patience, patience

“It is only a minor thing. Probably not even worth your time, but could you come over and look at it anyway?”

Techies hear that a lot. But, most of the time, trying to find the patch for the army of (virtual) bugs you unleashed isn’t that simple. To fix an error on an unknown machine can easily take a half of a day. Be patient and let your techies do their job for as long as needed.

Celebrate Techies Day

And why are we coming with all this advice? Because October 3rdis dedicated to techies and, at the same time, European Cyber Security Month is up and running. So appreciate techies, follow their advice, act smart in the cyber world and take them out for lunch.